Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my information after I take the survey?
After completing the survey, your name and information is removed from our internet site and transferred to our private and secured in-house database.
Why do you offer this service?
This website serves many purposes: A) It helps consumers receive direct mail offers that they want. B) It helps marketers mail to only households that want to receive their offer or message, thereby reducing their mailing costs. C) We earn profits by matching marketers with consumers who want their products or services.
Are you saying that you can eliminate ALL of the direct mail that I don’t want?
Not quite, but we can help. You can go to http://www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php and register for their Mail Preference Service, which will remove your name from all direct mail companies that comply with this service (which is most major, reputable mailers). Keep in mind, that this will remove your name from most unsolicited mailings…even the ones that you want. If you combine the DMA service, with ours…that’s when you should notice your mailbox go from clutter to just the mail you choose.
Is ALL the direct mail I receive at home from mailichoose.org?
Not by a long shot! There are thousands of companies doing direct mail, and they are using thousands of different mailing lists. We are just one of those lists. Our difference, (and we think we are the only company doing it) is that WE ASK YOU what you want to receive, and how much of it. Our hope is that consumer direct mailers will recognize the quality of mailichoose.com subscribers as the only list compiled solely and openly to match mailers with consumers that ask for more mail, and decide that this should be their primary source for targeting prospects.
Will this affect my bills or other personal mail?
Not at all. Sorry to say, but we can’t stop your bills from coming! Our service is to enhance your unsolicited direct mail, such as catalogs, fundraising offers, sweepstakes, magazine subscription offers, etc.
Is there a cost for your service?
No, it is absolutely free. We will never ask for payment in any form.
What if I decide, I don’t want to receive more mail after taking the survey? My state has a “Do not mail” bill currently in legislation, what are your feelings on it?
Just email us at info@mailichoose.org and we will promptly remove your name from the list we make available to marketers. Although your name will be removed immediately, you may still receive offers from our clients for up to 4 months. The reason for this is that we may have already supplied your name to marketers with mailings planned up to 4 months out. Once you “opt out” you will see the mail from Mail I Choose partners decrease, and taper off within two weeks.
If I fill out the survey, will I start getting too much mail?
Remember, our goal is to put you in control with this survey! The survey includes an option to choose the number of offers you would like to receive per month. We can't guarantee that you will receive the maximum, but we CAN guarantee that you won't receive more than you choose (from mailichoose.com partners).
How can I tell a “Mail I Choose” offer, from other offers I receive in the mail?
We ask all of our clients to include “MIC” or “mailichoose.org” on all of their address labels. Some may even mention “As a mailichoose.org subscriber…”
Why else should I sign up?
In addition to receiving targeted direct mail, you may also help control postage costs for everyone! Consider
As of today there are 11 bills by states on the matter of “Do not mail”. Our opinion is naturally that this is not good for consumers or marketers and is mainly government getting involved with an issue that sounds good, but does not make sense. The bills are based on the grounds that consumers are annoyed by large amounts of unsolicited direct mail, or that direct mail is not eco-friendly or identity theft fears. All are valid concerns, but we don’t think more government regulation or fining marketers large amounts of money is the answer. There are better ways to overcome these issues…such as self regulation. The DMA currently has the Mail Preference Service and is hard at work on the Commitment to Consumer Choice initiative (CCC). We have not read or reviewed these bills, and do not claim to be experts, but on the surface, they are missing the big picture, which is that the direct mail industry employs millions of people in either direct or related fields such as marketing, advertising, printing, paper production, retail, etc. The regulation introduced by government could affect billions of dollars in commerce and personal income. According to DMA attorney Jerry Cerasale “Mail affects $900 billion a year in commerce and 9 million jobs…Almost half of all mail is advertising”. Therefore, the government “do not mail” regulations would negatively impact jobs, income, business growth and probably the price of postage for every citizen, since the USPS would be hit the hardest with a drastic revenue reduction. Is this what government wants? Is this want the average consumer wants? We don’t think so, and we believe if consumers are presented with all of the facts, most Americans would choose to recycle a few pieces of mail every day as a trade off to keep postage rates down and not put their neighbor out of work. The bottom line is that we all want the same thing; mailers do not want to mail to consumers who are not interested in their products or services, and consumers don’t want to receive these offers. At mailichoose.com we are giving people the power to help control what they receive, through our survey and resource page.
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